Chapter 2

Vanessa’s words reminded me of the day Ethan and I were choosing a bridal boutique. We had come across one called Beloved.

Ethan stared at one of the designer’s gowns for so long that I had to call his name several times.

When he finally came back to himself, he murmured, “It really is beautiful.”

Then he turned to me. “You should wear that one at our wedding.”

Remembering his distracted expression and the way he had looked at me, I finally understood. He had been looking through me at someone else.

Someone he hadn’t married, but had once promised a wedding dress from Beloved.

I said nothing. I simply watched Vanessa with a quiet smile.

“Claire, I’m dying. Did you know that? I have bone cancer.”

Vanessa smiled too. Against her paper-white face, it looked tragically beautiful.

If I hadn’t known the truth, I might have felt sorry for her.

But she had failed her mission to win Ethan’s heart and was about to be forcibly removed from this world.

To stay, to punish him, to watch him tear himself apart with regret as her life hung by a thread, she had gambled with her life. She traded her remaining years to the system for the right to remain here.

The problem was, her character had never existed in the original novel.

The obstacles on my road back to Ethan had always been our different values and views on life.

Not some ridiculous stand-in.

The wedding hall was so quiet that all I could hear was the guests’ uneven breathing.

Ethan stared at the phone as if he could burn a hole through it and drag the woman on the other end out.

Then the call disconnected.

At the same moment, a text notification sounded.

Ethan opened the message and went blank. His fingers loosened, and the phone fell to the floor.

From where I stood, I could see a photo of a bone cancer diagnosis on the screen.

Vanessa’s name was printed clearly in black.

Ethan looked at me in panic. Guilt flooded his eyes, turning their rims red.

“I’m sorry… Claire.”

He dropped the ring and ran out of the chapel without looking back.

The guests erupted. The silent hall filled with gasps and exclamations.

As the bride, I had to preserve what dignity I could after my groom abandoned our wedding for another woman.

At some point, my smile had gone stiff. My eyes ached from holding it.

“I’m sorry you had to witness this. We’ll hold the wedding another day.”

Soon enough, there would be another wedding for them to attend.

I turned away and picked up Ethan’s discarded phone and ring, fighting to keep my tears from falling.

If Ethan and I had gotten married today, Vanessa would have failed her mission and been forced out of this world.

But she had gambled with her life, betting that the thought of her dying would make Ethan abandon me.

She won.

A character who had never existed on the page had won Ethan.